Cold, Cold Night
by penneyxx
Summary: Bella's parents agree to let Alice and Edward Cullen, two exchange students from London, live at the Swan residence as part of a school program. Even though it's for an educational purpose, Bella is uncomfortable for... obvious reasons. Rated T, for now.
1. Revelation

I was in transit, walking from AP US History to AP Government when the principal's assistant pulled me into the main office. She told me I had to wait a few minutes to speak with the principal since there was already a line in front of me. I sat in between Lauren Mallory who was undoubtedly being dress coded for her risqué skirt and some buff senior who was probably caught terrorizing underclassmen.

I had never been called into the principal's office before. I had lived 17 years without ever having to face her office. I'm not going to underestimate myself: I am a perfect student. I have never ditched a class, I have never been late to a class, and I've never gotten anything short of an A- on any report card. I always turned my work in on time and I overfilled myself with work; I was probably the only student in the junior class who was balancing 4 AP classes. In the short five minutes that I had to wait, I kissed my dreams of Harvard goodbye, was contemplating on how I would tell my mother that I would never be the lawyer-slash-journalist-slash-doctor that she dreamed I would be, and imagined myself living in a trailer park with five kids and Mike Newton as a husband.

Suddenly, the principal, Mrs. Stewart, was standing in front of me, beckoning me into her office. When I was inside, she closed the door shut and sat down behind her desk, shuffling through some papers while I tentatively took my seat. I looked around at the walls at her many diplomas, and then at the picture frames she had on her desk. I looked just about everywhere except for her eyes.

"Bella, I want you to calm down," she began. "You're not in trouble. You can breathe."

I didn't believe her. She had to deal with girls like Lauren Mallory on a daily basis; she must have learned that in order to keep kids from running away from her clutches, she would have to lie to them. She watched me for several seconds, waiting for me to loosen up.

"Alright," she breathed. "Well, you're actually in here for a _good_ reason. I'm sure you've heard about the exchange program we have set up, haven't you?"

I stared at her blankly.

"Basically, the faculty knows that you're an excellent student. Trust me, _we know_. In a week, we have students flying in from London and they are all going to be living with students from Forks High School. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind housing two students who are a bit…" She struggled to find the appropriate word, her face rolling through several different expressions. "They… _lack _the intelligence that you have, and they lack the motivation that you have to be such a wonderful student. We hope that, by studying with you and attending classes with you, maybe they-"

"You want to force me to live with two stupid kids?" I interrupted her. I looked horrified, but to be honest, I'd rather house these kids than be stuck in detention.

"They're not _stupid_-"

"Sorry, they 'lack the intelligence that I have,' whatever. I'm not a magician, Mrs. Stewart. I can't magically make two kids love school and want to get amazing grades."

I really wouldn't have minded living with two kids from London; it was definitely better than hanging out with the hotheads that I eat lunch with every day. Plus, I'm an only child, and it could get pretty suffocating living in a house alone with my dad. But Mrs. Stewart expected me to make these kids smart, and that was something I couldn't teach.

Mrs. Stewart shuffled some papers back into a folder and set them aside, placing her hands neatly on her lap. "Well, Bella, your parents already approved of this a month ago, so you're just here to receive some information about the students you're hosting," she said coolly.

My jaw dropped.

She placed two sheets of paper in front of me, expecting me to read them. I didn't move.

"One of the students you will be hosting is a girl named Alice Cullen. She is your age, and from what her parents have told us, she plans on pursuing a career in fashion." Mrs. Stewart bunched her nose, her expression practically screaming her disapproval of this girl's lifestyle choice. I looked down at the paper, and there was a picture of a petite girl with short black hair and a huge smile. "She is mostly having trouble in her mathematics and Biology class, just so you are aware."

"And what classes does she enjoy, Mrs. Stewart?" I asked coldly, still staring at her picture.

I could see her shrug out of the corner of my eye. "Arts and crafts?"

Forks wasn't a town that loved the arts. If you ever wanted to get out of this town, you would have to devote yourself to something a bit more meaningful in order to get into a good enough college. We didn't have many fairs or any open galleries, and the only place nearby that had somewhat of an artsy community was La Push. The natives there mostly made wooden statues of wolves or small nick-knacks. I already knew Alice would hate it here.

"The second student is Alice's twin brother, Edward. He excels in his history class and-" she immediately stopped speaking when I abruptly stood up, the papers I was holding flying onto the floor.

"Are you _joking_? You're sending a boy to live with me?" I squeaked. Now I was truly horrified. "Doesn't that break some sort of school code or some national law or something?"

"Not if your parents approved of it."

"Well did you blackmail them? There is no way my parents would agree to this." She cocked her eyebrows. "Fine, maybe my mom would, but my dad would never let a boy stay at my house. He rarely even lets me go out to see a _movie_ if a boy is going with me."

I stood there and waited for her to tell me that what she said was a joke, that only Alice would be staying with me and that she didn't even _have_ a twin brother named Edward. But she didn't. She looked down at her papers, reading something that caught her eye. After a few minutes, I started to believe that maybe this was real. Maybe, for some incentive that I couldn't understand, my parents had agreed to let a boy live with me. Even if it was for educational purposes, it was completely ridiculous, but it was true and I couldn't prevent it.

I huffed. I was angry; I was angry at Mrs. Stewart for offering this opportunity to my parents, I was mad at my crazy mother who was keen on ruining my life even if she was in Phoenix, I was angry at my dad for making this spontaneous decision without even telling me. But most of all, I was mad at myself for getting so upset. He was only a stupid _boy_.

I picked up my book bag and straightened out my skirt. "Alright, that's great," I said. "In a week I'll pick up these kids and they'll live with me. I'll teach them math and science and history and English, and once they become geniuses, I'll ship them back to London." My sarcasm made Mrs. Stewart bite back a laugh, but it felt like she had punched me in the stomach. "Thanks for considering me and my feelings when you were making this decision, Mrs. Stewart. It's not weird for me to live with a boy I don't even know. It's not awkward and not even slightly threatening or anything." It felt weird yelling at my principal, someone I should have admired, but she didn't look angry; she looked slightly amused.

"Bella, this is for the benefit of other students. Once they leave, I'm sure you'll be satisfied by the work you put into their education," she told me. I nodded and turned to leave, deliberately slamming the door behind me.

Before I left the main office, I noticed that Angela Weber had taken Lauren Mallory's seat by Mrs. Stewart's office. I could tell why she had been summoned into the principal's office just by looking at her: her shorts seemed to be nonexistent and her shirt had so many holes in it that it could count as a rag. Angela was a nice girl and a wonderful student, but she would cut her own fingers off just so she could be included in Lauren's crowd. If that meant disrespecting herself like Lauren did, she would do it.

She blew a bubble and looked up at me, her eyes smiling as I walked by. "You know," she nearly yelled, trying to get my attention. "Practically everyone could hear you screaming in there. Come on, Bells, what could be so bad about living with a cute British boy for a while?" She blew another bubble, her eyes darting to the floor. "I also have a kid coming to stay with me. Her name is Rosalie. From her picture, she looks kind of like an ice queen. I would _die_ to have a boy stay with me." She looked back up at me, daring me to answer her back.

I contemplated saying _many _nasty things to this girl I considered my friend, but I bit my tongue to keep the words from coming out. I smiled at her and continued to walk to my AP Gov. class, pretending that I knew what I was doing.

* * *

_6 Days Later_

_

* * *

_

"I have a boy staying with me, too."

When those words came out of Lauren's mouth, I assumed that she was about to tell me some slutty tale of hers. Even though we were in the library, she wasn't the type of girl who knew how to be modest. If she had something to say, she would say it. I continued to look down at my Spanish homework, waiting for to inform me on all of the excruciating details.

"Bella?"

When I looked at her, she didn't look excited. She looked worried. I sighed. Lauren and I were like an old married couple; we liked each other, but we fought. And when we fought, I always forgot all of the reasons why I ever liked her. She was condescending and rude, but the next second she could be as sweet as a lollipop. She was usually mean when we were in public, but when we were in private, she was a totally different person.

I'm not saying I would ever marry Lauren Mallory; god knows how many people have been in her mouth. Sometimes, I'm too scared to even hug her.

"Yes, Lauren?" I said, turning my body towards her. She turned towards me as well and leaned in as if she was about to tell me the darkest secret in the world.

"His name is Jasper Hale, and my parents agreed to let him stay at my house," she said. "My parents hate boys, especially when they're around me. I know it might be hard to believe," she added, raising her eyebrows when I began to grin, "but they're very protective of me, you know?"

I nodded, biting my pencil to keep myself from laughing.

"Anyway," she continued. "They're letting this guy stay at my house. He's on that London program, too. Angela told me a boy is staying at your house." I opened my mouth to tell her that I also had a girl staying with me, but she didn't let me cut in. "It's so _weird_. I'm going to have to be with a boy, and my parents are gonna be there, too! It's just unreal, you know? I don't know what I'm going to do. I just can't be _me _with a boy there."

Lauren had just echoed my thoughts exactly. The group was arriving tomorrow and I was slowly trying to adjust my life. I tried to imagine how it would be to always have someone _there_ with me; I wouldn't have a lot of privacy, and what's worse is it wouldn't just be a girl who was _there_ with me.

When I asked my dad about the program, he shrugged. "Your mom said it would be a nice thing to do, taking in these kids," he said. "And it's not like the damn boy is gonna be sleeping in your _room_, Bells. Hell, he won't even be on the same floor as you. He's not gonna attack you. The girl, on the other hand, seems pretty weird. Some artsy kid, that's what your school told me." His eyes darted from me to the gun he kept stashed under the sink. "I'd keep my eyes on her, not that boy."

I looked up at Lauren, desperate to get that distressing look off of her face. "Just think of him as your brother," I told her. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Seriously. Just keep telling yourself, 'this boy is my brother, not some cute British guy I can attack. He's my brother.' Just keep repeating it in your head, over and over and-"

"Bel-_la_," she whined. "You're not helping."

"Invite Mike over or something," I suggested. "Have another boy there to distract you. Or make him get involved in after school stuff so he'll always be busy."

"I can't control his life," she countered.

I closed my eyes, feeling a headache coming. I had AP Bio next period, and there was no way I could ditch it. I was already uneasy and Lauren's voice wasn't helping. "Then…. I don't know, tell your dad to take him fishing or something."

"Bel-_laaaaa_-"

"Lauren, I can't help you right now," I spat out. "I don't even know what I'm gonna do with my _own_ guy. Just… figure it out when he comes."

Lauren rolled her eyes and sighed. "At least your guy is cute." I glanced over at her, about to disagree with her, but then I realized that I had never even looked at Edward's picture so I wouldn't know if he was cute or not. "I mean, Jasper is cute too, I guess. But Edward is just something else." She licked her lips, smirking at me. "I hope he likes geeky girls like you, Bells. Make sure to whip out the lingerie when he's over."

I felt my jaw drop slightly and my cheeks redden. "How did you see his picture?" I asked.

"I'm observant," she said. "Now, seriously, I need to concentrate. If we start talking about Edward, I will never be able to finish my Chemistry homework."

I sighed and went back to my Spanish work, trying to calm my nerves. Tomorrow would surely be a calamity.


	2. First Impressions

I'd rather be writing an essay than waiting at the airport.

Lauren and Angela were also waiting, and it turned out that Mike Newton and Jessica had also signed up for the program. They were all excited to see the kids they would be hosting (Angela wasn't that excited, Rosalie still scared the crap out of her).

I was definitely not excited.

My dad forced me to clean up my room so he could move in some mattresses next to my bed for Alice. My room felt so much smaller with a makeshift bed there, and I silently said goodbye to my privacy for the next semester. I threw down a pillow and some sheets on top of the mattresses and began my Art History reading for next class.

I liked silence because I could easily study. The one perk about not having a sibling was that I never had anyone to bug me; I always had time and space to do my homework and, if I turned off my computer and my phone and hid my iPod, I would never get distracted. When I lived with my mom in Phoenix, she was always running around the place, begging me to go to some market with her or go tanning or go see a movie. I never got any work done in that house and I fell behind in my classes, which was part of the reason why she sent me away to Forks. Here, there were no special markets to go to and tanning was never an option with the constant rain and the folks here were so behind that there were never any decent movies playing in the theaters. It was a perfect place for an over-achiever to live.

But now I would have two temporary siblings. I was never going to get a 5 on any AP test with so many distractions.

"Bella, stop being so melodramatic. It's goddamn frustrating," my dad mumbled from next to me.

"Sorry. I was just saying goodbye to my normal life, I didn't mean to disturb you," I said.

"This isn't the end of the world, they're just two kids who are gonna be staying with us. I don't think they're gonna be _that _annoying," he told me, but I stopped paying attention when I heard screaming.

The group had arrived and had already gone through the baggage claim, and running towards us was a squealing and smiling Alice. She looked so tiny and fragile in person, and her defined features made her look like a fairy. She dropped her bags next to us for Charlie to pick up and came jumping into my arms, her small hands running through my hair as her legs wrapped around my waist.

"You were the first person I noticed! You look exactly like your school picture! Oh my goodness, Bella, I'm so excited to finally meet you!" she yelled, her accent thick and intriguing. She squeezed my chest tightly and I could barely breathe. She hopped off me and began to jump up and down excitedly. "I can't wait to live with you! We'll have fun every second of every day, I promise you, Bells."

Great, there goes my study time.

"Well, it's nice to see you, too, Alice," I told her. "Listen, we don't have to go anywhere for a while- I mean, you're probably going to be jetlagged and you might get homesick so I was thinking-"

"_Please_!" Alice screeched. "I barely need any sleep and I've never been homesick before in my life. I'm not a baby, you know." She smiled and reached up to play with my hair, pulling it gently. "Want me to give you a haircut? I cut my mum's hair every year. I'm a fabulous hair stylist, if I can say so myself."

"Come on, Alice, give the girl some breathing room," said a silky voice from behind Alice. She instinctively moved aside and there, I presumed, stood her brother, Edward.

Lauren's description did him no good.

He was _beautiful_, with shining, red-tinted hair and piercing green eyes. He looked like a model with his perfect complexion and wonderful height and he had an adorable crooked smile that showed off his pearly white teeth. He didn't' dress like any of the boys from school; he wore a collared shirt, dark pants and shiny leather shoes. It was so typically European and it was like nothing that I was used to. His hair looked perfectly disheveled and he had a 'I-just-got-out-of-bed' feel to him, which just made him even more perfect in my eyes.

He was definitely Lauren's type.

He reached out his hand for mine, attempting to properly introduced himself, but my dad quickly cut in, taking the boys hand and shaking it roughly. "Nice to meet you, Edward. Do you have any nicknames? Want me to call you Ed, or Eddie?" he rushed. He looked at me and eyed me carefully, as if to tell me to stay away from this boy. My father probably thought Edward would have looked like some chess geek or a greasy skater-boy, not like a glistening god. I guess he no longer wanted this boy near his only daughter.

"Edward is fine, sir," Edward answered, his accent just as thick as his sister's.

My dad patted his hand on Edward's back, shoving him forward. "Alright, then, grab your bags and follow me to the car. We'll meet you girls there soon," he said, shoving Edward away from us with the bags. Alice and I stared at them as they walked out of the airport, both of us shocked by my dad's attitude. But Alice quickly snapped back to reality and grabbed my hand, which looked massive in her small palms. "What shirt size are you?" she asked me.

I widened my eyes a little, taken aback by her random question. "Um, a small?" I answered. She squealed.

"Cool, me too! Well, sometimes. I'm either a small or an extra small, depending on the store, but that's basically the same, right? We can share our clothes when I unpack and I doubt we're the same pants size or even the same shoe size but you can squeeze into my heels if you want and I can handle baggy clothing it's just another style and it's going to be _so much fun_ like having a sister but-" She paused to take a breath, quickly calming herself, and when she opened her mouth to continue speaking I instantly shushed her.

"Alice, we have plenty of time to talk about clothes," I told her, tugging on her hand. "Come on, they're waiting for us in the car." Thankfully, she simply smiled and walked towards the exit with me, and she didn't say another word about fashion until we got to my room.

* * *

Alice stood in front of my closet wearing only a white bra and jean shorts, hanging up her clothes and sifting through my own selection. When she looked through my clothes, she looked like she was in pain. I didn't own a lot of colors; I mostly wore collared shirts and short skirts. I wasn't a big fan of shorts and I liked to wear patterned leggings with heels. It was very librarian and very _bad_ in Alice's mind.

"You look like a girl who would like lace, and maybe also flowers. You barely have any shirts and you just own some typical black skirts. But your heels are hot," she commented, now searching through my cabinets. "Do you have any sexy underwear?"

I blushed and was about to lie to her and say that I didn't when there was a knock at the door and a very familiar silky voice called out if he could come in. Alice rolled her eyes and asked me to throw her a shirt, so I tossed her a white wife-beater that was lying on my bed. She looked at it, grimaced, and pulled it over her head. "Come in," she sung, and Edward came inside.

I had never had a boy in my room before. Except for my dad who would constantly check up on me to make sure I was doing my work and I wasn't distracted, I had never been allowed to have a boy in my room with me. My dad was strict about dating and rarely approved of a boy that I liked, but then again, with a dad like mine, boys rarely asked to come over. And now, I had an extremely gorgeous and sweet smelling British boy walking in, and he was walking towards my bed.

I always imagined that the first time I was alone with a boy in a room it would be romantic, where he would peel off my clothes slowly and kiss me everywhere and it would be magical and unforgettable. But then again, I was an innocent little high school girl who'd barely had any experience with boys, so even _this _was messing with my head.

"Bella?" Edward whispered from beside me, staring at me. Alice had taken a seat on the mattresses that were laid out for her and was staring at me as well. He looked like he was waiting for me to say something, and I guessed he had probably asked me a question. I stared back at him until he smiled, chuckling slightly. "I asked you if you were an avid history fan?" He gestured to my stack of textbooks and reading material for my history classes.

"Uh, well, not really," I said. Alice and Edward looked at me like I was a mad woman. "I mean, sure, I like it, but I only take a lot of history classes because it'll look good on my transcript. And it's the easiest subject to learn, at least for me. There's a date for everything and there's no secret meaning behind anything; it's all just memorization."

"That's deep," Alice mumbled, nodding her head.

"Aren't you good at history?" I asked Edward, remembering what Mrs. Stewart had told me about him.

Edward smirked, his eyes shifting to Alice. She giggled. "Well, yeah," he said, his voice trailing off. He didn't elaborate.

"Alright, I have to pee," Alice stated, jumping off the mattresses and practically flying out of my room, shutting the door behind her. Now Edward and I were alone.

On my bed.

He leaned back and laid his head down on my pillow. He began to play with a thread that had come off on my skirt, twirling it around his finger aimlessly. Either this boy was a complete idiot and had no idea what kind of hold he had on girls or he was an expert player and knew exactly what he was doing to me. "So, Bella," he began. "Are you friends with Lauren Mallory?"

My heart sank. "What?"

He smiled, amused. "Jasper is staying at her house. He's my best friend, and he also happens to have a thing with my sister. I was just wondering." I looked down at him, and his green eyes looked hopeful. What would he do for the next semester if he wasn't able to spend time with his best friend? I sighed. I didn't have a problem hanging out with Lauren… as long as it wasn't every second of every day, but I guess I would have to sacrifice some things.

"Yeah, her and I are friends," I told him. His smile instantly widened, and his fingers abandoned the thread on my skirt and he began to trace circles on my skin that was exposed by my top. My eyes widened at him and I instantly slapped away his hand, but he only wrapped his hand around mine instead. When I tried to pull away, he just held on tighter.

I was suddenly confused and excited at the same time, and I had no idea how to react to him. "Edward, I'm here to help you study. You shouldn't try to get smart with me," I warned him.

"Isn't that the point? To get smart?" He joked, now tracing patterns on the back of my hand.

"Well, don't be a smartass." I tried to pull my hand away again and this time he obliged.

Suddenly, I felt bad for being so quipping with him and racked my brain for something to say to lighten up the mood. As I opened my mouth to blurt something out, he shushed me with a question. "So, what is there to do in Forks?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his attempt.

"Nothing." He raised his eyebrows and questioned my answer, but I stuck to it. "Seriously, there's nothing to do here. Unless you like the rain and trees and cheap tourist shops, there's nothing to do. No movies, no decent restaurants, nothing. You guys picked the wrong place to move for a semester."

"It's not like London is any different."

I gaped at him. "Are you joking? London must be _ten_ times better than Forks."

"Well, we have the same things there. Lots of rain, lots of trees, and lots of cheap tourist shops. We just have a bigger population," he snubbed, but I couldn't disagree. Forks was practically a ghost town. "If you dislike it here, why do you live here?"

I sighed. "It's either rainy Forks with my dad or sunny Phoenix with my mother. I like it here only because there is nothing to do; in Phoenix there are way too many distractions."

He stared at me again, waiting for me to elaborate, but I had nothing else to say about the subject so I shrugged. He narrowed his eyes. "So you live in this cold, depressing town just because there's nothing to distract you from your work?" he asked slowly, practically questioning my sanity.

"Yes."

Edward suddenly looked very amused, like I was a brand new toy he had gotten for Christmas, and began to play with my skirt again. Once again, I attempted to slap his hand away but he grabbed it and held onto it tightly. "You're strange, Bella."

I glared at him. "Wow, thanks, Edward. You sure know how to flatter a girl." I wiggled my hand out of his grip. "Don't you have a girlfriend? Some blond bombshell waiting for you in London? Or maybe some blonde bombshell right here in Forks, like Lauren Mallory?" I couldn't help but be curious; a boy like Edward _had_ to have a girl waiting for him somewhere. And I wasn't up to playing games with him for the next couple of months; I wanted a straight answer.

But to my surprise, he shook his head, his curious hand coming up to twirl a strand of my hair around his finger. "No, I don't have a girl waiting for me anywhere." And then he smirked, looking me up and down cautiously. "And plus, I think I prefer brunettes over blondes."

And then he was standing up, walking towards the door. He ran his hand through his hair, glancing back at me. "Do you want something to eat? I'm hungry." I opened my mouth to answer him, but I couldn't think of anything to say. He smiled and walked out of my room, leaving the door open for Alice who came skipping in a few seconds later. She jumped on my bed and took Edward's spot, holding my hand to examine my manicure. I still couldn't think of anything to say to convey how I felt at that moment.

Who was this boy, and how was I going to survive the next semester with him?

* * *

"Bella, I don't understand this," Edward whispered to me. I was having a hard time concentrating in my US History class with him next to me in the first place, but now he was purposely trying to distract me. I was going to go crazy.

"Just shut up and pay attention," I whispered back to him. He grinned and leaned in closer to me, his hand coming up to rest in my hair. He began to twirl one of my curls around his finger. I slapped his hand away, something that was becoming routine now, and scanned the room to check if anyone had noticed. I was surprised that no one had. It looked like no one was paying attention to the lesson except for me; Eric Yorkie, a boy who usually drowns himself in his work like I do, was practically falling asleep at his desk. Angela was batting her eyes at Ben Cheney. Rosalie was sitting next to a vicious looking guy and he was holding her hand tightly while Mike tried to peek down her shirt. Right as I looked at her, Rosalie's eyes shot up to mine, giving me a look that sent shivers down my spine. Her eyes slid down to my exposed knee, where Edward had placed his hand, and then turned away, snickering. I mechanically slapped his hand away again.

"What's the deal with Rosalie?" I asked Edward. I had calmed down a little now that I knew that the rest of the class wasn't paying attention either, and Edward seemed happy by my new found serenity. He brought his hand back up to play with one of my curls, and this time I was too lazy to shoo him away.

"She's like with everyone, it's nothing personal," he told me, but I couldn't believe him. "What's the deal with you being so obsessed with US History?" He gestured to my notebook, which already had two pages full of notes from the day's class.

"What's the deal with you being so obsessed with my curls?" I spat back, suddenly finding the energy to push away his hand. Edward chuckled and turned towards the teacher, feinting interest in the lesson. I rolled my eyes and looked forward, forcing myself to pay attention.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't focus on anything but the stupid, misconceiving boy next to me.


	3. Small Note

I reaaaallly suck at updating…

I'll have something up soon!


End file.
